This is certainly not as great as a James Bond action film. It is a very good movie with a simple plot. It has a wonderful cast and a great outdoor location for the major action scenes. Not a spoiler, just pay attention when action starts. Do watch closely when a helicopter scene begins. You will see James Coburn doing a real scary stunt hanging from under the helicopter. Not a stuntman doing the job. Also close your eyes when Coburn speaks and ask yourself if it is Leonard Nemoy. They have the same voice. This is well worth seeing. It is not real dumb. It also is not an educational film. No nudity or gore. James Coburn is the main attraction here. There are very nice aerial shots. The stunt hang glider pilots are very skilled.
21 Reviews
"You must not be afraid to make a decision".
lost-in-limbo25 December 2013
Looks cheap, grungy and is thinly plotted, but the cast (James Coburn, Robert Culp, Susannah York, John Beck and Charles Aznavour) along with the Greek scenery and aerial stunt work (hang gliding) go a long way in making this an entertainingly sweeping, old-fashioned action joint with striking showpieces. The opening (the kidnapping) and closing sequences (the in and out rescue at night) do manage to rally plenty of tension especially during the climax set against an isolated medieval monastery in the mountains, but in between that it's somewhat mechanical in its elaborate structure. A waiting game and plans being formulated with some preachy inclusions. Well we have revolutionary terrorists fighting imperialism. Gladly Coburn's hardy presence keeps you hooked for the ride. Director Douglas Hickox paces it rather well and his streamlined handling offers numerous nitty gritty passages, despite some stagy moments. Music composer Lalo Schifrin gives the presentation a bit more oomph with his grand, luxurious arrangement. A tough, but breezy 70-s drive-in action adventure.
Nail-biting and thrilling picture dealing with hang-gilders versus left wing political extremists in the Greek mountains
ma-cortes21 June 2017
¨Assault on the forbidden fortress¨ or ¨Sky riders¨ is an entertaining film with interesting plot , glorious Greek exteriors and with no depth characterization . Nice and agreeable thriller with a great cast , noisy action , sensational stunts , thrills and suspense abound in this fun movie . Concerning about an industrialist's (Robert Culp) wife (Susannah York ) and kiddies are abducted by a terrorist organization called ¨World Activists Revolutionary Army¨ commanded by two nasty cutthroats (Werner Pochath , Zou Zou) who even pack bazookas , machine guns and dynamite in their mountain retreat somewhere in Greece . How to get at them ? , the surprising solution results to be the following : a nearby group of hang-gliding freaks (led by John Beck) in Greece , as the woman's ex-husband called Jim McCabe (James Coburn) comes to the rescue with a plan involving hang gliders . As the valiant Jim McCabe , supported by Inspector Nikolidis (Charles Aznavour) , recruits a team of volunteers who attempt to outwit the kidnapping rioters . As the brave hang-gilders using their spectacular ¨Delta wings¨ risk it all to take on a bunch of political abducting people . They'll try anything once ... especially if it's impossible!
Good and typical action movie with an amazing as well as startling finale , including a particular novelty : some impressive scenes about sky riding . Expert stunts , moving script by Jack DeWitt and Stanley Mann and acceptable acting make it a fun movie in any era . Breathtaking hang-gliding footage , emotion , thrills and gorgeous locations make up for garden-variety screenplay . And the last thirty minutes is sheer violence , mindless , mayhem and destruction . Fine acting from James Coburn in his usual laconic style as an intelligent he-man who rescues ex-wife from clutches of nasty kidnappers . This tough action well made by Douglas Hickock contains a stirring and rousing score by Lalo Schifrin , adding Greek sounds . Colorful cinematography by Ousama Rawi and Jim Freeman , shot on location in the Varlaam monastery in Meteora, Greece .
The motion picture was compellingly directed by Douglas Hickox in his ordinary cold-blood style . Hickock was an expert at blazing action scenes and realizing acceptable films until his early death at 59 , being his film debut : ¨It's All Over Town¨ and his final ¨Dirty Dozen: The Series¨, TV series . Being father of directors Anthony Hickox and James D.R. Hickox . Douglas began as an assistant director and second unit director in the 1950's . Before working on feature films , he also directed hundreds of commercials . As part of a bequest , the Douglas Hickox Award is given to a British director on their debut feature . Douglas made all kinds of genres and playing them known actors , such as Drama : ¨Sins¨ (85) with Joan Collins , ¨Mistral's daughter¨ (84) with Stacy Keach ; Black comedy : ¨Entertaining Mr Sloane¨ (70) with Harry Andrews ; Monster movie : ¨Behemoth , the sea monster¨ co-directed by Eugene Lorie with Gene Evans ; Thriller : ¨Blackout¨ (85) with Richard Widmark , ¨Sitting Target¨ with Oliver Reed ; Warlike : ¨Zulu dawn¨ (79) with Peter O'Toole ; a Sherlock movie : ¨The Hound of Baskervilles¨ with Ian Richardson , Action : ¨Brannigan¨ with John Wayne , and his best film was ¨Theatre of blood¨ an ironical terror/comedy with Vincent Price .
Good and typical action movie with an amazing as well as startling finale , including a particular novelty : some impressive scenes about sky riding . Expert stunts , moving script by Jack DeWitt and Stanley Mann and acceptable acting make it a fun movie in any era . Breathtaking hang-gliding footage , emotion , thrills and gorgeous locations make up for garden-variety screenplay . And the last thirty minutes is sheer violence , mindless , mayhem and destruction . Fine acting from James Coburn in his usual laconic style as an intelligent he-man who rescues ex-wife from clutches of nasty kidnappers . This tough action well made by Douglas Hickock contains a stirring and rousing score by Lalo Schifrin , adding Greek sounds . Colorful cinematography by Ousama Rawi and Jim Freeman , shot on location in the Varlaam monastery in Meteora, Greece .
The motion picture was compellingly directed by Douglas Hickox in his ordinary cold-blood style . Hickock was an expert at blazing action scenes and realizing acceptable films until his early death at 59 , being his film debut : ¨It's All Over Town¨ and his final ¨Dirty Dozen: The Series¨, TV series . Being father of directors Anthony Hickox and James D.R. Hickox . Douglas began as an assistant director and second unit director in the 1950's . Before working on feature films , he also directed hundreds of commercials . As part of a bequest , the Douglas Hickox Award is given to a British director on their debut feature . Douglas made all kinds of genres and playing them known actors , such as Drama : ¨Sins¨ (85) with Joan Collins , ¨Mistral's daughter¨ (84) with Stacy Keach ; Black comedy : ¨Entertaining Mr Sloane¨ (70) with Harry Andrews ; Monster movie : ¨Behemoth , the sea monster¨ co-directed by Eugene Lorie with Gene Evans ; Thriller : ¨Blackout¨ (85) with Richard Widmark , ¨Sitting Target¨ with Oliver Reed ; Warlike : ¨Zulu dawn¨ (79) with Peter O'Toole ; a Sherlock movie : ¨The Hound of Baskervilles¨ with Ian Richardson , Action : ¨Brannigan¨ with John Wayne , and his best film was ¨Theatre of blood¨ an ironical terror/comedy with Vincent Price .
I enjoyed the film very much - captivating scenes of hang-glider rescue.
judyb621 March 2003
I have been trying to find this film on video for many years because I remember it as being so interesting, with the rescue sequences by hang gliders. I disagree with another person who commented that they could not see the hang-gliding sequences, due to darkness in the film. There are not very many films that make a big impression on me but this one did and I still remember it though I only saw it once, when it was first released. I hope it is released on video or DVD some day so that I can see it again.
Pros and Cons of "Sky Riders"
Vlasios_Tzomos31 July 2018
Pros:
Music 9/10 (Lalo Schifrin's music gives more tense especially at the action scenes)
Scenery 10/10 (Meteora are really breathtaking... we should see more often this place in movies)
James Coburn 8/10 (Cool as always... Classic Coburn)
Cons:
Scenario: 4/10 (Plain scenario, no surprises... ok it's a 70's scenario but still they could have work it more... I mean James Coburn fighting Leftist terrorists on Meteora?..)
Direction 5/10 (Hickox isn't Hitchcock, that's for sure... aerial shootings though where actually good)
Conclusion: It's a classic 70's action movie. If you decide to spend your time to watch it you won't regret it. But the next morning you'll not remember a lot. Maybe only the stunning scenery of Meteora. It's 7/10 by me.
High Flying Hang Gliders
zardoz-1322 June 2012
Warning: Spoilers
"Brannigan" director Douglas Hickox's above-average adventure epic "Sky Riders" qualifies as an entertaining but improbable abduction opus. James Coburn of "Our Man Flint" fame stars as a smuggler who struggles to rescue his ex-wife and two children from the clutches of a treacherous group of trigger-happy kidnappers that call themselves World's Activist Revolutionary Army. This swiftly-paced, PG-rated, 91-minute suspense thriller draws its title from the hang gliders that Coburn employs to snatch Susannah York and two children from a mountain-top monastery. Robert Culp co-stars as wealthy industrialist Jonas Bracken who married Susannah York's character after she divorced the Coburn hero. "Sky Riders" was the first time that the picturesque monastery was used in a Hollywood actioneer. Several years later, producer Albert R. Broccoli used the location in the Roger Moore James Bond thriller "For Your Eyes Only." The aerial assault on the monastery is spectacular stuff, and Coburn appears to be performing his own stunt when he clings to the skid of a helicopter in flight. Unfortunately, despite its scenic settings, dazzling cinematography, and big-name cast, "Sky Riders" suffers from the absence of a strong villain. Scenarists Jack DeWitt, Greg MacGillivray, and Stanley Mann penned the screenplay from a story by Bill McGaw, Hall T. Sprague, and Garry Michael White. Two problems plague this aerial actioneer. They don't have an intimidating villain, and the dialogue remains pretty bland. French singer Charles Aznavour plays a Greek police man who wants to arrest the bad guys. Lalo Schifrin's music enhances the bloody violence
routine
blanche-28 September 2009
James Coburn, Susannah York and Robert Culp star in "Sky Riders," an action film from 1976. Culp's family is kidnapped by terrorists, and Coburn, who is the ex-husband of York and the father of her son, steps in to help. With the help of a photograph of the family sent by the terrorists, he manages to trace their location to an abandoned monastery. The only way to get there unseen is overhead, as it lays on the top of a huge rock formation. Coburn brings in experienced hang-gliders to help him.
Some really nice scenery and hang-gliding sequences are the highlight of this film, along with a good performance by Coburn. The characters aren't really fleshed out, nor are the circumstances of York leaving Coburn for Culp. It's hinted at through the dialogue that Culp wanted to marry York, and in exchange for not fighting the divorce, Culp used his influence to get Coburn less prison time. The boy in the family doesn't know who Coburn is, so the marriage happened when he was very young. There was some rich character material there, but it's not played out in the script.
Ordinary.
Some really nice scenery and hang-gliding sequences are the highlight of this film, along with a good performance by Coburn. The characters aren't really fleshed out, nor are the circumstances of York leaving Coburn for Culp. It's hinted at through the dialogue that Culp wanted to marry York, and in exchange for not fighting the divorce, Culp used his influence to get Coburn less prison time. The boy in the family doesn't know who Coburn is, so the marriage happened when he was very young. There was some rich character material there, but it's not played out in the script.
Ordinary.
An okay time killer
pmtelefon17 February 2024
I don't remember "Sky Riders" ever coming out. I would have been twelve years old when it was released and if I knew about about I would have wanted to see it without a doubt. The poster alone would have been enough for me. Somehow it slipped through the cracks. Well, thanks to YouTube I got to see this movie yesterday. It was an okay watch. It started out pretty good but then it started a fade a little. The aerial footage was pretty impressive but it was also kind of boring. The big raid on the hideout stuff was well done, I guess, but it wasn't that exciting either. All in all, I kind of liked "Sky Riders" but I won't be watching it again any time soon.
Typical 70's B Movie
jrs-84 April 2005
"Skyriders" is a typical action film from the 70's that opened and closed within two weeks and your local theater and drive-in. It contains a few name stars (James Colburn, Robert Culp) but let's face it the action is supposed to be the star. On that score the film is not bad. The problem is it takes much too long to get to the action.
Colburn stars as a pilot whose ex-wife and child (along with another child fathered by Culp) are kidnapped by mercenaries for ransom. While Culp works on raising the money and cooperating with authorities, Coburn hires a band of expert gliders to aid in a rescue. All of this could have been told in a clean quick manner but it takes forever to get to the rescue. We even have a silly montage of the skydivers training Colburn. Not necessary. We want the action! Contrary to the first comment the skyrider scenes are not too dark even though the desired effect is for it to night time. Actually I think it was shot during the day and a dark filter superimposed on the film to make it look like night. If you look closely at the rocks you can see the shadows of the gliders. I never saw such pronounced shadows at night.
The gliding scenes are well done and thrilling up to a point. My biggest problem is that the escape plan seems all too easy seeing where the kidnappers are located. Of course it's not all done without a hitch but there are no real twists to keep things exciting. The last part of the film becomes a standard shoot em up film that you have scene hundreds of times before.
The film is mediocre at best. The good talent is pretty much wasted in an action film with not enough action or a smart script.
Colburn stars as a pilot whose ex-wife and child (along with another child fathered by Culp) are kidnapped by mercenaries for ransom. While Culp works on raising the money and cooperating with authorities, Coburn hires a band of expert gliders to aid in a rescue. All of this could have been told in a clean quick manner but it takes forever to get to the rescue. We even have a silly montage of the skydivers training Colburn. Not necessary. We want the action! Contrary to the first comment the skyrider scenes are not too dark even though the desired effect is for it to night time. Actually I think it was shot during the day and a dark filter superimposed on the film to make it look like night. If you look closely at the rocks you can see the shadows of the gliders. I never saw such pronounced shadows at night.
The gliding scenes are well done and thrilling up to a point. My biggest problem is that the escape plan seems all too easy seeing where the kidnappers are located. Of course it's not all done without a hitch but there are no real twists to keep things exciting. The last part of the film becomes a standard shoot em up film that you have scene hundreds of times before.
The film is mediocre at best. The good talent is pretty much wasted in an action film with not enough action or a smart script.
agreeable thriller/action movie notable for its stunning stunt work
myriamlenys6 December 2022
Warning: Spoilers
A rich businessman lives a life of ease and contentment in the company of his loving family. One day, however, his wife and children get abducted by determined kidnappers who demand a king's ransom in military equipment. Alarmed by the news, the wife's ex-husband rushes to the scene in order to offer his help...
"Sky riders" is a thriller/action movie set in Greece. It's a very watchable movie that includes magnificent stunt work, especially with regard to paragliding. Many of the paragliding scenes take on an almost dream-like beauty.
Politically speaking, this is not the deepest movie around. The kidnappers are depicted as extreme-left terrorists determined to do some serious fighting, but that's about as far as the explanation goes. In many ways they're just generic baddies to be outwitted and defeated, like the mustachioed Mexican bandits showing up in Westerns. One gets the impression that the various makers of the movie were wary of getting dragged into a realistic depiction of the domestic problems and politics of Greece, which would have resulted in a far more bitter and tragic work.
Watching and enjoying "Sky riders" does require solid suspension of disbelief, especially during the second half, when the brave rescue attempt goes underway. Is it really credible that a group of well-trained terrorists, armed to the teeth, could be foiled that easily ? In real life, the gallant rescuers would probably have ended up as mincemeat. And it would probably have been "requiem aeternam" for the hostages too...
"Sky riders" is a thriller/action movie set in Greece. It's a very watchable movie that includes magnificent stunt work, especially with regard to paragliding. Many of the paragliding scenes take on an almost dream-like beauty.
Politically speaking, this is not the deepest movie around. The kidnappers are depicted as extreme-left terrorists determined to do some serious fighting, but that's about as far as the explanation goes. In many ways they're just generic baddies to be outwitted and defeated, like the mustachioed Mexican bandits showing up in Westerns. One gets the impression that the various makers of the movie were wary of getting dragged into a realistic depiction of the domestic problems and politics of Greece, which would have resulted in a far more bitter and tragic work.
Watching and enjoying "Sky riders" does require solid suspension of disbelief, especially during the second half, when the brave rescue attempt goes underway. Is it really credible that a group of well-trained terrorists, armed to the teeth, could be foiled that easily ? In real life, the gallant rescuers would probably have ended up as mincemeat. And it would probably have been "requiem aeternam" for the hostages too...
Plot minimal; characterisation non-existent
. partially redeemed by its half-decent action sequences.
barnabyrudge12 April 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Whenever actors are interviewed, they always seem to want to talk about the characters they have played in whatever movie they happen to be promoting at the time. It would have been very interesting indeed to see what the actors would have said about their roles in Sky Riders, for here we have some of the most shallow characterisation ever seen in a mainstream film. Quite why talented stars like James Coburn, Susannah York, Robert Culp, Charles Aznavour and Kenneth Griffith were needed for these roles is beyond explanation. It is a movie built solely around a novel action gimmick (hang-gliding rescue mission) – in terms of plot and characterisation, it doesn't even make it to first base.
American industrialist Jonas Bracken (Robert Culp) lives with his wife and kids in a Greek villa. While he's out on business, a group of masked terrorists raid the villa, ruthlessly executing the staff and abducting Bracken's nearest and dearest. Later, the terrorists establish contact and demand a huge sum of money and various arms for their vague militant cause in return for the safe return of their prisoners. Bracken's wife, Ellen (Susannah York), used to be married to adventure-loving mercenary Jim McCabe (James Coburn). When he learns that she has been taken hostage by the terrorists, he quickly steps in to offer his services. When it becomes apparent that Ellen and her two kids are imprisoned in a mountain-top monastery which cannot be approached unseen from below, McCabe comes up with the audacious idea of flying in by hang-glider and attempting a near-impossible rescue against formidable odds.
Sky Riders is the penultimate film of director Douglas Hickox (Zulu Dawn would be his last). He handles the dizzying aerial action quite well, especially in the film's final quarter. However, the film overall is a dispirited and utterly routine non-event it's brief running time is either the result of a heck of a lot of post-production cutting, or else the script (which, unbelievably, is the product of four brains) simply misses out on a whole host of potentially interesting developments. The performers really don't stand much of a chance when they're asked to work with such threadbare material - Coburn smiles a lot and gets to perfect his cool macho posturing; York is totally wasted as the woman with two men in her life that genuinely love her; Culp spends almost the entire film wearing an anxious grimace. Harry Andrews and Kenneth Griffith turn up in a couple of one-scene cameos that could've easily been played by any half-competent bit player. Lalo Schifrin's score is at least suitably flavoursome and the Greek locations look gorgeous, but you'd be right to expect a lot more from Sky Riders. Sadly, all it leaves you with are a few morsels of decent action; besides that there's virtually nothing else.
American industrialist Jonas Bracken (Robert Culp) lives with his wife and kids in a Greek villa. While he's out on business, a group of masked terrorists raid the villa, ruthlessly executing the staff and abducting Bracken's nearest and dearest. Later, the terrorists establish contact and demand a huge sum of money and various arms for their vague militant cause in return for the safe return of their prisoners. Bracken's wife, Ellen (Susannah York), used to be married to adventure-loving mercenary Jim McCabe (James Coburn). When he learns that she has been taken hostage by the terrorists, he quickly steps in to offer his services. When it becomes apparent that Ellen and her two kids are imprisoned in a mountain-top monastery which cannot be approached unseen from below, McCabe comes up with the audacious idea of flying in by hang-glider and attempting a near-impossible rescue against formidable odds.
Sky Riders is the penultimate film of director Douglas Hickox (Zulu Dawn would be his last). He handles the dizzying aerial action quite well, especially in the film's final quarter. However, the film overall is a dispirited and utterly routine non-event it's brief running time is either the result of a heck of a lot of post-production cutting, or else the script (which, unbelievably, is the product of four brains) simply misses out on a whole host of potentially interesting developments. The performers really don't stand much of a chance when they're asked to work with such threadbare material - Coburn smiles a lot and gets to perfect his cool macho posturing; York is totally wasted as the woman with two men in her life that genuinely love her; Culp spends almost the entire film wearing an anxious grimace. Harry Andrews and Kenneth Griffith turn up in a couple of one-scene cameos that could've easily been played by any half-competent bit player. Lalo Schifrin's score is at least suitably flavoursome and the Greek locations look gorgeous, but you'd be right to expect a lot more from Sky Riders. Sadly, all it leaves you with are a few morsels of decent action; besides that there's virtually nothing else.
Excellent escapism.
Hey_Sweden18 March 2012
"Sky Riders" is good fun, with a fairly unique premise. Robert Culp plays Jonas Bracken, an industrialist whose family are kidnapped by terrorists who demand a ransom. Also swept into the drama is Jim McCabe (James Coburn), the ex-husband of Jonas's wife Ellen (Susannah York) and biological father to Jonas's stepson. The trouble is, our good guys realize that the bad guys have holed up in a mountaintop lair, and will be able to see most anybody that's coming. Then Jim hits upon inspiration: hire a hang gliding team to perform as an impromptu rescue unit, taking lessons from them himself. The hang gliding sequences give this action-thriller something extra. Directed extremely well by Douglas Hickox ("Theatre of Blood", "Zulu Dawn"), this is a genuinely exciting movie that can actually keep a viewer watching. It's breathtaking, with the expected impressive aerial stunts and lots of amazing Greek scenery. The music by Lalo Schifrin is just perfect as it's quite rousing and the movie just steadily builds the whole time towards a fantastic action climax. The acting is fine from most everybody involved, with Coburn making for a rugged and engaging hero, Culp the picture of grim determination, York a feisty victim, and Charles Aznavour solid as the intrepid Inspector Nikolidis. The people playing the hang gliders include John Beck, Barbara Trentham, Henry Brown, and Steven Keats, and they're a very likable bunch. Werner Pochath and Zouzou are appropriately odious as two of the terrorists. This is clearly not a movie that's too well known, which is too bad as it deserves better. One could certainly do a LOT worse. Eight out of 10.
Pretty bad: from mediocre to dumb
vostf7 June 2014
I am struggling to pinpoint some clever stuff in Sky Riders. The plot, as the whole movie is mediocre at best. The story itself and story editing are really awful: boring stuff happens for most of the movie before we get to real action.
Coburn is good in a pretty lame role, but no actor really shines anyway since they've all been given stock characters to play without a personal touch. The gliding scenes are OK but it is really nothing close to tense action getting you to the edge of your seat. The Greek Monastery was a fine location/plot idea but it is totally wasted by the dumb script: assault is piece of cake, freeing the hostages is so easy that we have the annoying scene were the hero even has a little chat with the girl. And Day-for-Night may have been very fashionable around 1970, but the result is simply awful when supposedly tense action is shot that way for dozens of minutes.
I simply stopped to hope for something interesting by that point and even stopped watching the movie ten minutes before its ending. The escape and final shootout were simply the worst action finale I can remember.
Coburn is good in a pretty lame role, but no actor really shines anyway since they've all been given stock characters to play without a personal touch. The gliding scenes are OK but it is really nothing close to tense action getting you to the edge of your seat. The Greek Monastery was a fine location/plot idea but it is totally wasted by the dumb script: assault is piece of cake, freeing the hostages is so easy that we have the annoying scene were the hero even has a little chat with the girl. And Day-for-Night may have been very fashionable around 1970, but the result is simply awful when supposedly tense action is shot that way for dozens of minutes.
I simply stopped to hope for something interesting by that point and even stopped watching the movie ten minutes before its ending. The escape and final shootout were simply the worst action finale I can remember.
Manages to be unusual and pedestrian at the same time!
Poseidon-33 January 2006
Warning: Spoilers
As the old stripper in "Gypsy" says, "Ya gotta have a gimmick!" This action film's gimmick is that the only way to stage an imperative rescue is via hang glider! Culp plays an official living in Greece whose wife York and their two children are taken hostage by a sketchy band of terrorists and held for ransom atop an abandoned monastery. The remote building sits high on a pillar with only similar pillars around it and deep valleys and cliffs as the surrounding terrain. Culp works with the police (led by an almost Clousseu-like Aznavour) while York's first husband (and the natural father of one of the children) Coburn takes a different tack. He pairs up with hang glider expert Beck and his team of specialists to stage a rescue. Coburn isn't bad in his role, though he's hardly challenged by the lame script. York, whose low voice is down there with Vanessa Redgrave's at this point, hasn't got much to do but act worried and ludicrously stand up to her captors. One scene has her sliding to the floor in fear while her terrified preschool daughter lies alone on a cot! Culp tries to convey concern, but his transformation from diplomat into gun-toting savior is rather unrealistic. At least Coburn was already portrayed as a man of action from the start of the film. Even more preposterous is the presentation of the circus performers in Beck's troupe suddenly becoming firearm-trained mercenaries and SWAT-level hostage rescuers in a matter of hours! Always likable Beck has the misfortune of being shown in a silly, grey, sideshow leotard in his first appearance. (One of his gaggle includes Orsatti, best known for plummeting from a table to the lighted ceiling/floor in "The Poseidon Adventure" and appearing in numerous Irwin Allen-produced films before gaining stature as a noted stunt coordinator.) Aznavour is sometimes unintentionally funny in his role as the diminutive, but exacting police chief. Andrews, despite his billing, barley appears at all as a grizzled seafarer. Folks expecting him to figure into the story mustn't hold their breath. Notable 60's personality Zou Zou also barely appears. The chief asset of the film is the spectacular Grecian scenery and the proliferation of location shooting. Also, the shots of the hang gliders in action do provide a modicum of excitement. Unfortunately, a pervading sense of inanity hangs over the film. The opening capture sequence is ridiculously shot. The boy hilariously mouths (while the terrorists are killing virtually everyone on the estate), "They're wearing hockey masks." Since the terrorists kill everyone but the captives, why bother wearing them? They take them off anyway once they reach the monastery!! Then when the big rescue comes, wouldn't someone in charge have noticed that the escape route takes the participants DIRECTLY OVER the place they've just escaped from, thus exposing them to just as much danger as before?? This sort of stupidity goes a long way in decreasing any points the film has scored in the way of star power, interest level or excitement. Still, if one checks his brain before viewing, the film can provide a modestly entertaining diversion.
Utterly ordinary time-waster.
gridoon31 October 1999
Utterly ordinary, thoroughly routine and totally forgettable adventure tale that's good only if you want to waste some time -although there are many better time-wasters around. There are no surprises and no attempts at distinguishing this film from dozens of similar films. As for the hand-gliding sequences, many of them are filmed at night and we can barely see what's happening onscreen!
You Can't Send A Boy Up In A Crate Like That.
rmax30482331 December 2013
Warning: Spoilers
Some fine performances from James Coburn and some of the rest of the cast, plus picturesque Greek locations, can't provide the thermal that would lift this out of the abyss of the gimmick movie.
At heart, it's a routine film of a millionaire's family being kidnapped and then rescued by Coburn and half a dozen hang glider pilots from a circus troupe. We get to know the millionaire, Robert Culp, and the kidnapped wife, Susannah York, because they are familiar figures. We also get to know the local chief of police, Charles Aznevour, a Greek with a French accent. Except for John Beck, who heads the circus troupe and teaches Coburn how to fly and whose chin seems to be a granite massif, the other flyers are faceless and nameless, although they too are risking their lives in a daring assault on the ex monastery where York and her two kids are being held.
The opening scene has the villains bursting into Culp's Greek mansion and shooting down all the servants before making off with York and the kids. The ransom is five million dollars. Culp, a nice cooperative guy, is willing to pay but hasn't got five million bucks. No matter because the whole ransom business is dropped from the plot anyway, eclipsed by a long and chaotic shoot out at the monastery.
The editing really is execrable. So is the screenplay. Coburn seems to learn how to fly a hang glider in five minutes under Beck's tutelage. York doesn't get any lessons at all but can still take the controls during the escape when her companion is wounded. Oddly enough, the movie is built around the use of the hang gliders, which were a novelty at the time. (Earlier novelties included wet suits and Scuba diving; viz., "The Wreck of the Mary Deare," "Thunderball." Later, there were sky divers.) Yet the shots of the hang gliders aren't thrilling, as they should be. Much of it is at night. And the images of mountainous landscapes are jumbled and rolled about carelessly.
After the escape is effected and the monastery is under assault from a horde of Greek astynomia, led by Aznavour, who has even given Robert Culp a rifle and dragged him along, some of the hang gliders circle back to the monastery, when they could easily head straight away from the area of danger. The gliders are unarmed but they keep flying around and providing convenient targets for the villains' machine guns.
However, for all its flaws, it's a thought-provoking film. The thought it provokes is that no power on earth could ever get me to leave the ground in one of those flimsy contraptions.
At heart, it's a routine film of a millionaire's family being kidnapped and then rescued by Coburn and half a dozen hang glider pilots from a circus troupe. We get to know the millionaire, Robert Culp, and the kidnapped wife, Susannah York, because they are familiar figures. We also get to know the local chief of police, Charles Aznevour, a Greek with a French accent. Except for John Beck, who heads the circus troupe and teaches Coburn how to fly and whose chin seems to be a granite massif, the other flyers are faceless and nameless, although they too are risking their lives in a daring assault on the ex monastery where York and her two kids are being held.
The opening scene has the villains bursting into Culp's Greek mansion and shooting down all the servants before making off with York and the kids. The ransom is five million dollars. Culp, a nice cooperative guy, is willing to pay but hasn't got five million bucks. No matter because the whole ransom business is dropped from the plot anyway, eclipsed by a long and chaotic shoot out at the monastery.
The editing really is execrable. So is the screenplay. Coburn seems to learn how to fly a hang glider in five minutes under Beck's tutelage. York doesn't get any lessons at all but can still take the controls during the escape when her companion is wounded. Oddly enough, the movie is built around the use of the hang gliders, which were a novelty at the time. (Earlier novelties included wet suits and Scuba diving; viz., "The Wreck of the Mary Deare," "Thunderball." Later, there were sky divers.) Yet the shots of the hang gliders aren't thrilling, as they should be. Much of it is at night. And the images of mountainous landscapes are jumbled and rolled about carelessly.
After the escape is effected and the monastery is under assault from a horde of Greek astynomia, led by Aznavour, who has even given Robert Culp a rifle and dragged him along, some of the hang gliders circle back to the monastery, when they could easily head straight away from the area of danger. The gliders are unarmed but they keep flying around and providing convenient targets for the villains' machine guns.
However, for all its flaws, it's a thought-provoking film. The thought it provokes is that no power on earth could ever get me to leave the ground in one of those flimsy contraptions.
classic Coburn at his best
ceqa025 June 2006
The movie starts with machinegun-toting terrorists killing the hired help and kidnapping a wife and child. The husband seeks his wife's former husband's help in getting them back. The gang's hideout territory scenery is breathtaking, an abandoned and isolated monastery in mountainous Greece. The inside of the monastery depicts ancient Christian Orthodox iconography. Coburn lines up a travelling troupe of circus-act type hang gliger performers to teach him how to fly. These are the early design of hang gliders, with a rogallo wing design. The rogallo wing consists of fabric stretched out in a triangle over two leading-edge hollow aluminum spars, with another aluminum tube for a spine, and another for a cross bar, and a lower metal loop for the dangling pilot to grip and steer by. Very much like a modern delta-style steerable kite. These were dangerous but beautiful designs, which are capable of going into a stall and nose dive, straight into the ground from a thousand feet up if you are not careful and experienced, but a delight to watch in flight. Before he approaches them, Coburn watches the travelling aerialists' circus-style open-air act, as the heartstoppingly colorful hang gliders perform aerial maneuvers with breathtaking poise and beauty. There's a pretty girl in the troup. One flyer pretends to lose his grip and plummets dozens of feet into a nearby body of water while his pilotless hang glider drifts lazily down without him. So Coburn approaches them and asks to be taught how to pilot one. Somewhere along the line, while learning to fly, Coburn gets casual and cozy, and proposes to the performers that they join him in the rescue. "If we fail," you get your money back," the teacher volunteers. "Right!" Coburn grins skeptically and knowingly, to which the others laugh. Coburn isn't bitter, but he's no fool, and suddenly they have all been won over to his side and looking at the challenge as a team. Like I said, Coburn at his best. From there on, it's a class act as Coburn and the aerialists make a stealth infiltration of the sky-high monastery via hang glider, and seek to get the woman and child out and escape again on their hang gliders before the terrorists can discover and stop them.
"Do not underestimate the level of their insanity!"
moonspinner5523 June 2017
American industrialist in Greece has to raise $5,000,000 in 48 hours to save his wife and children from the hands of a merciless anti-imperialist terrorist organization known as the World Activist's Revolutionary Army; when the police prove to be inept, the kidnapped woman's ex-husband organizes a hang-gliding team to infiltrate the terrorists' mountaintop lair. Old-fashioned adventure saga of the kind that hadn't been in vogue for several years (outside of the Bond films). Certainly not a bad movie, just a little late in arriving. Teaming of Robert Culp and James Coburn certainly pays off, and the aerial photography is very good. ** from ****
A solid and exciting action thriller
Woodyanders20 July 2007
Warning: Spoilers
A group of vicious, nefarious terrorist scum kidnap the stalwart, protective wife (a plucky, spirited Susannah York) and kids of wealthy industrialist Jonas Bracken (finely played by Robert Culp). So Jonas, assisted by York's macho, take-charge mercenary ex-husband Jim McCabe (an excellently wry and laconic performance by the always cool and unflappable James Coburn), diligent police chief Charles Aznavour, and a bunch of hang-gliding enthusiasts led by the handsome, dashing John Beck, decide to raid the terrorist's remote mountainside fortress in Greece in order to get 'em back. Directed with tight, brisk, straight-down-the-line concise and unpretentious razor efficiency by Douglas Hickox, from a similarly taut, smart and sharply honed script by Jack DeWitt, Stanley Mann and Garry Michael White, further enhanced by one of Lalo Schifrin's customary lush, stirring and majestic full orchestra scores, a pleasingly prompt, unflagging pace, top-rate aerial photography, frequent outbursts of excitingly fast'n'furious violence, solid acting, glossy production values, a properly no-nonsense let's get down to brass tacks attitude, and a wild bullets and bodies a flyin' everywhere mondo destructo shoot 'em up finale, this nifty little number overall sizes up as a satisfyingly terse and to the point action/suspense thriller.
An absolutely outstanding, cinematic adventure with some of the most vibrant location footage I've ever seen.
mark.waltz25 October 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This film definitely needs to be added to the list of the most absolutely stunningly photographed films, a story that is as familiar as any movie plot is. Robert Culp's wife, Susannah York, and son, are kidnapped, and held hostage high above the ground in a mountainous monastery, and Culp joins forces with her ex-husband, James Coburn, to rescue her. With the aide of hand gliding equipment, the two men go into action, resulting in some of the most stunning effects and vistas I've ever seen on film. This results in a truly amazing action packed second film, and the results may have the audience dropping their jaw.
There is absolutely no wasted footage in this movie. Every scene is plot related, and as everything is developed, it just gets more and more exciting. Filmed on real Greek landscapes in Meteora, this definitely had me wanting to take a trip to see the grand real sights, and yet, for just the cost of a dvd, I was able to travel there through the comfort of my own home. The film is not about the acting, even though everybody does a professional job, but the special effects and musical score are sumptuous enough to garner top praise.
This is one of those films that you wonder why it was not a box office smash when it came out because it's certainly is cinematic in every way. The monastery, high atop a very thin slice of granite (surrounded by other high thin slices of granite), is truly a Greek Shangri-la, although it's obviously not a peaceful place for a wife and mother to be held captive against her will. York of course is stunningly beautiful, and Culp and Coburn have a shared interest which is all the more touching because both men, in different ways, are in love with York, yet it's clear as to what the goal of the mission is, with absolutely no rivalry between them. Charles Aznavour has a scene stealing flamboyant cameo, and legendary character actor Harry Andrews is excellent as well. Definitely a top notch action film in my book!
There is absolutely no wasted footage in this movie. Every scene is plot related, and as everything is developed, it just gets more and more exciting. Filmed on real Greek landscapes in Meteora, this definitely had me wanting to take a trip to see the grand real sights, and yet, for just the cost of a dvd, I was able to travel there through the comfort of my own home. The film is not about the acting, even though everybody does a professional job, but the special effects and musical score are sumptuous enough to garner top praise.
This is one of those films that you wonder why it was not a box office smash when it came out because it's certainly is cinematic in every way. The monastery, high atop a very thin slice of granite (surrounded by other high thin slices of granite), is truly a Greek Shangri-la, although it's obviously not a peaceful place for a wife and mother to be held captive against her will. York of course is stunningly beautiful, and Culp and Coburn have a shared interest which is all the more touching because both men, in different ways, are in love with York, yet it's clear as to what the goal of the mission is, with absolutely no rivalry between them. Charles Aznavour has a scene stealing flamboyant cameo, and legendary character actor Harry Andrews is excellent as well. Definitely a top notch action film in my book!
Sky Riders
ingbri9-63-2095706 August 2021
Warning: Spoilers
A team of amateur mercenaries on hang-gliders travel to a remote abandoned monastery in a Greek mountain range to rescue a wealthy industrialist's family, who are being held for ransom by a band of radical political activists.
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